The Best Fruit Pie Ever
by ayziks
Summary: Often times the simplest of home activities with their three children Kya, Bumi, and Tenzin were the best times for Aang and Katara. In this story, Aang wakes early one morning, and bakes fruit pies for the family for breakfast.


**Title: **"The Best Fruit Pie Ever" (K+, Kataang, Air Family, one shot)  
**Author:** A6  
**Word Count:** 1735  
**Rating:** K+  
**Summary/Notes:**Often times the simplest of home activities with their children were the best times for Aang and Katara. In this story, Aang wakes early one morning, and bakes fruit pies for the family for breakfast.

...

It was a pre-dawn morning early in the fall. The colors of the turning foliage would be resplendent in the morning, but it was very dark now, except for the stars above. The stars in the chilly, starkly clear night sky were spectacular. Aang awoke earlier than usual. He wasn't sure why, but he couldn't return to sleep.

Carefully he slipped from between of the sheets of the bed, so he wouldn't disturb Katara, and dressed. She had years of sleeping by him as he rose early for meditation and his routines, but he still was considerate of her much-needed rest as a mother of three rambunctious young children. A lot of times she'd join his routines, but not this morning. She stirred but did not wake. Aang smiled lovingly at his gift from the spirits, and touched her hair almost imperceptibly, admiring the increasing number of beautiful silver strands interlaced with the brown. They were growing old together.

Up this early, he was at a loss of what to do, so he peered into the kids' bedrooms. He could feel more than see, thanks to his echo-location bending, that they were sleeping soundly after more than the usual share of bedtime stories about the spirit world and their mother's and his adventures together. It was always the kids' perfect excuse to stay up later, especially for Bumi, with his non-stop energy. Kya could never get enough of the singing nomads story, and was always humming "Secret Tunnel", especially when Uncle Sokka would come to visit. She knew that would always get 'under his skin'.

Aang peered out the windows of their residence and grinned, observing that even the normally vigilant White Lotus sentries were bobbing their heads, nearly asleep in the towers around Air Temple Island. He often objected but understood the need for constant security, knowing far too well of the fragility of the future of the Air Nation family with him and two year old Tenzin being the world's only air benders.

But that was not a worry for tonight, so he went to the kitchen. He was really hungry. Being close with Katara after the kids finally fell asleep had made him so.

_"Today feels like something special, so I should make something special,"_he thought.

An idea flashed into his head, and he decided to make 'the fruit pie to end all fruit pies'.

He assembled all the ingredients. The freshly stocked pantry was full of succulent items from the continuing fall harvest. He picked out a wide selection of fresh fruits that was so large he had to balance everything on an air cushion. Next, he opened his favorite culinary knife set and cut all the fresh apples, pears, and something resembling kiwis. He mixed them with fresh cranberries, cherries, and raisins. He tried to be quiet, and was pretty successful.

He whipped up a rich, thick sauce for the fruit from multiple juices, nectars, some natural sugars and honey, and exotic spices. It smelled wonderful as he put all he fresh cut fruit in the bowls with the sauce to sit for awhile.

While the fruit filling stood absorbing the savory sauce, he mixed, rolled, and formed the crusts in their pans. He got out the bigger pans, as his filling couldn't be held in the small ones.

He thought proudly, _"These may be the big ones, but will be so good the kids won't leave a smidgen."_

Igniting a small flare from his fingertips, he fired up the brick oven, and kept adding wood until it achieved the perfect temperature. One of the secret benefits of being a fire bender was an exact sense of how hot fires were, and knowledge of how to precisely control temperatures. The wood was imported from the forests of the Southern Air Temple, which even after more than a century past their near-annihilation, were still recovering. Across the Air Nomad culture, Southern Air Temple wood always was regarded as the best cooking fuel for their cuisine.

The stoked fire and charcoals were burning cheerfully, so Aang allowed himself the smug thought, _"I haven't lost it! This still beats all the new-fangled electric ovens._"

He carefully placed all the tarts into the oven, and savored the amazing smell of them baking slowly and thoroughly.

Aang was alone with his thoughts of his true happiness, surrounded by his sleeping family in a real home. The hissing of the fire and occasional pops and snaps of the cooking fire were the only things that broke the silence as the radiance of the dawn began to appear over Yue Bay. Soon, the sun itself peaked ray by ray from behind the mountains above Republic City. The colors of the dawn against the clouds changed in succession from the purples and pinks to oranges to yellows against a brightening sky as they always seemed to do effortlessly. He smiled inwardly at the choice of the site of this city chosen so long ago with Katara.

Aang wasn't the only one in the household who savored the smells of the delicious cooking tarts. Sleepily, Kya and Bumi padded into the kitchen in their night clothes, and even little Tenzin toddled in.

Bumi was the first to speak groggily, "Daddy? What are you cooking?" as he reached for a hug.

"I know! I know!" announced Kya cheerfully, as she gave her dad a quick good morning kiss on his cheek.

"Tarts!" chirped Tenzin happily. Even this young, he knew the special smell of this treat.

The kids were giddy, and Aang could see the beginnings of their daily energy stirring, as they jumped and hopped anxiously, while their father emptied the oven of the now golden brown and steaming fruit tarts.

"Daddy, these smell wonderful!" chimed Kya.

"Well, dear, I hope they taste even better. You can't get full on smells!" joked Aang.

Everyone giggled.

Soon each child was sitting with voracious eyes watching the vapor rise from their pies, cooling on the marble table top. They could barely contain themselves. Aang played a trick on them by bending the steam trails into the characters that spelled their names.

"Teach me that!" demanded Kya.

"Of course, young lady. With your mom's help though; she does it better," observed Aang.

"Now, Daddy?" asked Bumi with anxious eyes, clearly at the end of his patience for waiting.

"Not yet, kids, they are still too hot," warned Aang.

"C'mon dad, do your air bending thing. Cool them off. We can't wait!" pleaded Kya. The teen played her dad all the time, and he could never resist the young woman who was the spitting image of her mother.

"O...K..." he said, with a fake dejected tone in his voice.

"Air bend, Daddy!" asked Tenzin. He'd only recently shown he had the gift, but knew he couldn't control it yet.

So with a quick twist of his wrist and forearm, Aang created three small vortices that quickly jumped from his fingers across the table in a little dance that topped their pies and quickly cooled them. The children's eyes were wide as they watched in awe. There wasn't anything their father couldn't do with air, they were convinced. They were not far wrong.

"Yay!" cheered the children.

They virtually inhaled their pies, but not without some conflicts along the way.

"Hey, stop eyeing my pie, Bumi!"

"You took a piece of mine, Kya, why can't I?"

"Daddy, Bumi threw a raisin in my hair!"

"Mine!" yelled Tenzin, with a stern look at his older siblings.

But in one thing they were united when they were finished.

"More, Daddy!" they all demanded almost in chorus.

He pulled another one out of the oven, and divided it up.

"This is the last one," noted Aang.

They weren't listening as they gobbled the split pie.

Unknown to rest of the family, Katara entered quietly, having stood just outside the kitchen door for some time, savoring not just the aroma of the fruit pies, but also the sounds of a loving husband and father interacting happily with his children.

"So where's mine?" cooed Katara at Aang, rubbing her eyes as she entered the kitchen. She wrapped her robe around herself a little more tightly for modesty with the kids. Aang could see it barely covered the silky, diaphanous gown she had donned after their time together late last night.

"Right here, Katara. It's fresh out of the oven, so you better let it cool."

It smelled wonderful, but she could feel its heat. She flashed Aang that lovely grin she got when she was infinitely pleased with him.

"It's heavenly, Aang. While it cools, I'll make tea!" she said.

For a moment, Aang sat back, ate his own fruit pie, and enjoyed the sight of his family starting their day together. He was amused as Momo leaped on every crumb dropped by the little ones. Aang reflected that the sweet young family of four assembled around him was a simple joy that no one before him in the Air Nomads would have ever seen nor understood. It was a change for the better for his new Air Nation and the Air Acolytes that followed the new ways.

Aang concluded that these were the best fruit pies ever, and not just because of the ingredients, but because of who was there devouring them.

Then a tug came on his leg. Holding up an empty bowl for the second time was Tenzin.

"More, Daddy," came a cute little squeak from the two year old.

"You're still hungry, squirt?" chuckled Aang. Tenzin nodded emphatically.

"I'm sorry Tenzin, but there aren't any more. We ate them all," explained Aang.

Tenzin's lower lip pouted so much like his mother's when she was upset. Aang pondered for a moment, but then his eyes twinkled. Katara noted the gleam in her husband's eyes, and she could only imagine the mischief he had planned.

"I have an idea, Tenzin. Let's bake another one together," suggested Aang.

The little tyke perked up instantly.

Even though the fruit pies Aang had created for his family in the early morning light were incredible, Katara concluded that because Tenzin and Aang were baking together, the second round was really the 'best ever'.

Even though she had to clean up the huge mess that her two-year old youngest child and mid-thirties "oldest child" created in doing so.


End file.
